The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has apparently outlawed the use of VPNs and secure proxy services in the country via a new royal edict.

Anyone caught using a VPN could potentially be jailed and fined between 500,000 and 2,000,000 UAE dirhams ($136,130 to $544,521), announced UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan in an amendment to existing laws, Emirates 247 reported.

The modified law now states:

“Whoever uses a fraudulent computer network protocol address (IP address) by using a false address or a third-party address by any other means for the purpose of committing a crime or preventing its discovery, shall be punished by temporary imprisonment and a fine of no less than Dhs 500,000 and not exceeding Dhs 2,000,000, or either of these two penalties.”

However, as the new text makes perfectly clear, the law is not very clear. It’s clearly illegal to use a VPN or proxy server to hide any crimes you may be committing, but it’s unclear how the authorities would know if someone was doing so, if their packets are encrypted.

VPNs and proxies are extremely common in the UAE, a desert kingdom where locals make up just 15 percent of the population. Many expats residing in the country use VPNs as a way of avoiding the extensive Web filtering systems the government has put in place. The UAE orders its ISP providers to block anything deemed to be against its values, such as pornography, as well as any Israeli domains and most VoIP services.

Skype was among the blocked VoIPs for many years, but the ban was recently lifted after Microsoft successfully argued that it was having a negative impact on business in the country. The UAE also has two state-sanctioned VoIP providers called Du and Etisalat, but both services are said to be expensive.

Those who’re living in, or plan to visit the UAE anytime soon, are therefore warned – the new law went into effect immediately, which means that anyone using a VPN or proxy service is taking a very big chance.

Image credit: neildodhia via pixabay.com